India seeks fair treatment of Tri-Valley students

Washington: Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao has asked US authorities to view the cases of hundreds of Indian students affected by the closure of "sham" Tri-Valley University in a "fair and reasonable manner".
The Indian students of Tri-Valley University have undergone hardship since the closure of the university and their cases must be viewed in their totality with understanding and in a fair and reasonable manner, she told US authorities, according to a note put out by the Indian embassy.

As part of the embassy`s continuing efforts with US authorities for addressing the concerns of TVU students, Rao made the plea when she spoke to Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute Monday and in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Her initiative was a follow up of a meeting Friday between officials of Indian embassy, the State and Homeland Security departments as also United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and its investigative arm Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, according to an Indian embassy press note.

US authorities have approved the transfer of 435 Indian students of the California-based Tri-Valley University to other institutions, the embassy was informed Friday. While 145 Indian students were denied transfers and about an equal number were issued with Notices of Intention to Deny (NOIDs), the remaining cases of transfer are still under examination.

TVU president Susan Xiao-Ping Su, 41, was indicted in May by a federal grand jury on allegations of visa fraud and money laundering to the tune of $3.2 million by issuing visa-related documents to students in exchange for "tuition and fees".

Some 85 percent of TVU students were Indian, mostly from Andhra Pradesh.